Hugh Watson, British malacologist, was the son of John
Watson and his wife Laura Elizabeth Burnup, and a nephew of Henry C. Burnup*.
After a private education he entered Trinity College, University of Cambridge,
where he studied in the natural sciences and was awarded the degree Master of
Arts (MA) in 1914. As a man of independent means he devoted his life to the
study of molluscs. He became a member of the (British) Conchological Society in
1900, was its president for 1926/7, and was elected an honorary member in 1955.
In 1905 he became a member of the Malacological Society of London. He
corresponded with many British and foreign malacologists, but appears to have
been a lonely person with no near relatives, who suffered from poor health and
frequent attacks of severe migraine. A meticulous worker and skilled
draughtsman, his papers are a model of style and lucidity. He had an immense
knowledge of the literature and taxonomy of the Gastropods and was always
willing to help others who consulted him. In his younger days he travelled and
collected on the European continent, but later he received his material from
Europe and South Africa.
Watson published some important research papers on the
anatomy and taxonomy of South African molluscs. His very first scientific
contribution was a monograph entitled 'Studies on the carnivorous slugs of
South Africa' (Annals of the Natal Museum,
1915, Vol. 3(2), pp. 107-268). At this time he based his explanation of the
distribution of some carnivorous snails in the southern continents on the then
very new and controversial theory of continental drift. Other papers by him
included 'Natalina and other South African snails' (Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 1934).
The non-marine mollusc Trachycystis
watsoni (Watson's pinwheel), was named after him by M.W.K. Connolly* in
1939, after Watson had described its anatomy a few years earlier on the basis
of specimens sent to him by his uncle, H.C. Burnup.
